


The Last Avatar - Book Two: TITAN

by R_L_Keeper



Series: The Last Avatar [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Avatar the Last Airbender, Crossover, F/M, Final Fantasy VII - Freeform, Gaming related shenanigans, Original Characters - Freeform, Random references, Red Herring Romance, Slightly Parody-esque, stupid humour
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-05
Updated: 2015-09-07
Packaged: 2018-04-19 04:05:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4732229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_L_Keeper/pseuds/R_L_Keeper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It started with the cement truck. She was sure of that. Of course then she ended up in a 'loading screen' or something, before being tossed into a world Rue had thought to be fictional. With all that, finding out she was the Avatar as well was a bit much.<br/>Book Two follows Rue as she deals with the repercussions of the end of Book one and begins her Earth Bending Training.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 2.0 Waking on the Road

It was the rocking motion that woke her, at least that is what Rue wanted to pretend for the moment. She wanted to ignore the fact that her back and arms felt like they were on fire. It was a hard sell, but for the short time that she lay there, wherever there was, and felt the rocking of whatever transport she was inside sooth her, just a little bit.

' _You okay, kiddo? You were out for a while, we were worried,'_ asked a concerned sounding Korra. Rue's eyebrow's twitched, apparently she'd been unconscious long enough for the other Avatars to be worried about her. That wasn't a good sign, and neither was the amount of pain she was in.

"M' fine," she mumbled through dry lips. She coughed soon after and grumbled when a cool hand touched her forehead lightly.

"Rue?" the voice was muffled, but distinctly male. It was a little familiar, but Rue's mind couldn't quite place it right at that moment. The pain was a little too intense for her brain to think about much of anything.

"No, Rue is unavailable right now, please leave a message," she attempted to grumble out. Instead it sounded like a partially unintelligible mumble that Rue doubted anyone could have understood. A deep chuckle was her response, and Rue found that things were growing less muffled the longer she was awake. She grumbled again and cracked an eye open, which was a task in itself, only to find herself staring up at a blurry roof of what she supposed was a truck. Moving her head slightly Rue caught sight of a very worried Angeal who was sitting by her side, she would have tried to say something else, but a Tera face appeared in her line of sight and Rue had to smile as the Coeurl bumped their foreheads together gently. A hiss of pain escaped Rue as she tried to move her hand and arm to pat Tera, moving right then and there was not going to happen evidently.

"Easy, you're still recovering," Angeal warned her. His hand found hers and gave it a gentle squeeze of reassurance as he moved a little closer so she could see him without having to move her head too much.

"From what?" Rue asked through clumsy lips. Her words weren't properly formed though Angeal smiled down at her regardless, Rue noted he seemed relieved. She must have been in a bad way. Angeal ran his free hand through his hair and sighed before answering, he looked a little hesitant to talk about it for some reason.

"You got doused with purified Mako, it caused some serious burns to your back, neck and arms and some with some ones to your legs, it could have been worse though, Tseng and I got you into the chemical shower pretty fast. The problem was the levels your body absorbed before we got you cleaned off," Angeal trailed off with a grimace. Then it all came flooding back to her; creeping into the Science Department, Hojo, guns, Tseng and Angeal. Blood Bending. The glass shattering and burning agony as she passed out. _Well Shit._ Rue grumbled to herself as she tried to wrap her tired, sluggish mind around that little nugget of information. It seemed like she was recovering not just from the burns, but Mako poisoning as well. Surely not, that was absurd, Rue was not a emo-chocobo and her hair was certainly not spiky enough for this shit to happen to her. Of course a wayward, unwelcome, worry floated up from the corners of her mind. Was the Mako that doused her, _just_ Mako or had Hojo added a little something to it? Something like psychotic alien squid? _Fuck Nuggets._

"Jus' Mako?" she mumbled out. The frown she got in response could have been either Angeal not understanding her or him not knowing what she was talking about, of course it was natural that he wouldn't understand. He didn't know about JENOVA yet. Wouldn't until he was older and how could she ask him about something he wasn't in the know about. Rue would have to ask someone else about the content of the Mako that had doused her. Maybe Tseng could help her with that, if she ever saw him again.

"Of course it was only Mako, what else would it be?" Angeal attempted to laugh a little and failed miserably. This wasn't the time for laughing it seemed. Tera pushed her head under Angeal's free hand, it seemed she understood Rue wasn't able to give pats right at that moment.

"Nothing, its fine, how long was I out for?" Rue moved away from that bag of cats with the speed of a galloping toddler. She didn't have the brain capacity to explain JENOVA to Angeal right at that particular moment. Another grimace as Angeal looked away for a moment, glancing toward the front of the truck and for the first time Rue wondered who was driving and, more importantly, where Sephiroth and Genesis were.

"It's January," was Angeal's hesitant answer. Rue's teal eyes widened, she'd been unconscious for around two months.

"Where are-?" Rue was looking around for the others uncertainly. Angeal smiled when he noticed and gave her hand another squeeze.

"It was decided that it would be suspicious if all three of of us went on a mission to such a peaceful area, so, as I'm the one who's supposed to be responsible for you, we figured it would make more sense for me to be the one to escort you out of Midgar. We were hoping you'd wake up before hand so Sephiroth and Genesis could say goodbye, but the doctors warned us you probably wouldn't," there was a silent apology in Angeal's eyes as he spoke. Rue smiled and shook her head the minimal amount she could without pain and closed her eyes, wishing she'd woken earlier to see the other two before they'd moved her.

"Take it Hojo kicked up a stink," she muttered with a tired half grin. Angeal snorted and shook his head at her as he leaned back a little, he looked as tired as she felt.

"More like the entire Science Department did, one of us had to stay by your bedside in the medical bay at all times in case they tried to Rue-napp you," Rue smiled at the term 'Rue-napp'. She had no doubt Genesis had coined the term while she'd been unconscious and used it frequently enough for Angeal to start using it too. "Tseng helped too, if we all had missions then he either sat in himself or posted a few other Turks in the room to keep watch," that made Rue's eyebrows crawl up her forward. _Damn._

"Creepy Turks watching me sleep? Did they eye rape me?" she asked with a tired smile. Angeal snorted with laughter and Rue heard someone else laugh along with him from the front of the truck. She turned her head carefully, trying to see who was driving, a futile effort in reality, there was a wall between them with only a small rectangle open so those in the back can talk to those in the front.

"I wouldn't be surprised miss," called a oddly familiar voice from the past though that window. Rue frowned and looked at Angeal for information on who was out there. He smiled at her and nodded his head at the window.

"I believe you've met Private Robin," eyes widened again as memories of her first battle flashed through her mind. Rhys Robin, the trooper she shot in the knee and left alive after the fight. Rue could barely believe that was over a year ago now, she could still remember her panic during that first battle with Rhys and his companions. Her first kills. She still shied away from that, the fact that she'd killed anyone wasn't something Rue enjoyed dwelling on.

"Yeah, we've met," she murmured with a sigh. "How's the knee dude? Been doing much adventuring lately?" she mentally slapped herself for submitting to the overdone joke. Again. Not that it was a thing on Gaia, but still, Rue should have tried harder.

"Not as much as I hear you have miss," Rhys called back from the front. Rue snorted at his good humour, appreciating that he didn't seem too dark on her at the moment. How he would be if Angeal weren't present was a thought for another day. One with less pain.

"Oh yeah, I've been doing all sorts of ill-advised crap since we first met," she called back as loudly as she could. Which wasn't very if she were honest, she was tired and the pain was starting to get worse the more she tried to move.

"Rue," Angeal called her back to their conversation. Fixing her eyes on his tired form Rue took note of how his shoulders sagged a little and the way he was leaning against the wall behind him. She wondered how much he, and the others for that matter, had slept since her little accident.

"I'm listening," she assured him with a smile. Somehow she had a feeling she knew what he wanted to talk about, though she was trying very hard not to think about it, such things needed to be dealt with head on before they started to fester.

"We need to talk, about a number of things, but right now we need to discuss what happened down in the labs," he paused as though trying to figure out what to say next. Rue wondered if Tseng had told them anything or if he'd kept his knowledge to himself while she'd slept.

"Yeah, I guess we do," Rue admitted with a sigh. She closed her eyes and motioned gingerly with her free hand for him to begin with his tentative questioning.

"Tseng has asked me to ask you about what you were doing to Hojo when we entered the room, he seemed even more worried that the rest of us about that part in particular," Angeal told her slowly. Rue grimaced, that was the thing with Angeal, he never beat around the bush and wouldn't stand for her to do so either. This was going to hurt.

"It-it's called Blood Bending, Ange, I was scared, I didn't even know I could do it and suddenly it just-just happened, I didn't mean to. I hated myself for it as soon as I realised what I was doing, but it stopped him, you know?" Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and the back of the truck blurred. Angeal shifted closer to her and soothed her as best he could, squeezing her hand comfortingly while he waited for her to calm down a little.

"Okay, it's okay, Hojo's fine, on a war path sure, but unharmed," he assured her. Unfortunately that only made Rue feel worse, sometimes she swore that foreknowledge was the bane of her existence. It just made things more complicated. "I'll tell Tseng you didn't know about the- what was it? Blood Bending?" Rue nodded, "I'll tell him you didn't know you could, okay?" Angeal's reassuring smile encouraged Rue to nod again. The tears slowing a little as she took a long shuddering breath to settle, crying hurt more than breathing did after all.

"Thanks," she murmured through a sniffle. Angeal chuckled a little and shifted forward slightly as his face morphed into something more serious a moment later. He glanced at the window into the front of the truck with a small frown before he opened his mouth again.

"I also need to ask you about something else, something you mentioned on the way to Midgar," he began quietly. Rue's brows furrowed, what in the seven hells was the beef-cake on about? Something she'd mentioned on the way to Midgar?

"Um, 'kay?" she was frowning at him a little.

"You said you'd never 'stepped foot' in the city, and then said the same thing to Tseng after I found you in the Science Department that first time, I was wondering what you meant by that, because it seems to me that you knew exactly where you were when Hojo stumbled across you, both times," as Angeal frowned down at her Rue got the intense desire to spill the beans. It was his eyebrows, they demanded the truth, she decided.

"I believe I said something about there being other ways to visit a city," Rue's eyes slid sideways as she tried and failed not to smile.

"You did. Care to share what ways?" he was smiling back, but the words were quiet. This conversation was obviously between them and was not for Private Robin, their driver for the day. Rue raised an eyebrow at him, the conversation starting to become a nice distraction from the pain.

"Well," she began hesitantly. Her mind just wasn't working enough for this shit, but it was fun. "I could, but then you'd know all my secrets and then all the fun would drain from our relationship, all the passion, think of the passion Angeal!" she was grinning by the end of her slightly melodramatic words and the pain in her arms and neck was worth the flush racing across Angeal's face. _Payback's a bitch._

"I-I didn't-" the teenage boy spluttered while leaning back, away from Rue as she lay down the centre of the truck bed on a pallet. Rue's grin widened as she watched Angeal flounder uncertainly, obviously unused to such talk directed at him.

"I never forget, Angeal, remember that, never, ever, ever, and eventually, I always get mine," the grin on Rue's face turned a little devilish in nature and Angeal sighed at her as he leaned back against the inside of the truck.

"I will keep that in mind, I only ask that you not do that again, I think you almost gave me heart palpitations," he joked half-heartedly. Rue snorted in amusement at him and rolled her eyes.

"Don't tell me that, it'll make me want to flirt with you more for shits and giggles," Rue complained lightly. She was still grinning.

"Please don't," he asked with a sigh. It was at that moment that a thought occurred to Angeal. "You changed the subject," he accused with another frown. Rue hated his eyebrows.

"Just notice that, did'ja?" her smugness was almost tangible. With a sigh and a shake of his head Angeal folded his arms, waiting for Rue to give him some form of explanation. Seeing this Rue rolled her eyes at him and gave a sigh of her own, dealing with this one was going to be exhausting. "Through a screen, Ange, I was there, seeing it all, through a screen," she told him flatly.

"A screen? What are you talking about?" he was frowning at her again. Rue growled at the roof of the truck, she knew he wouldn't believe her if she were to tell him the all of it, none of them would, so what was the point in trying at all? What else could she say?

"Yes, Angeal, a screen and I'm not saying any more on that particular subject so don't ask me any more," Rue's eyes closed.

"I see, alright then, you should get some more sleep, you look tired," he told her awkwardly. Rue nodded slightly and allowed her consciousness to slip into the world of dreams.

* * *

**CONGRATULATIONS!**

**Quest Completed!**

***Survive a Night in the Science Department***

**Well Done Brat!**

**Another night in the place of Nightmares, with some decent prizes up for grabs too.**

**That was interesting, to say the least.**

**Your task was, simply, to survive this little foray.**

**If you come out of this in one piece I'll even give you something real nice.**

…

**You got 100% on a technicality, but I'm a little worried about your mentality after that shit.**

**Could have at least snapped the bastards neck while you were at it.**

…

**As you did not complete the optional task you did not score the bonus reward.**

…

**Tough luck kiddo**

…

**2500 EXP**

**1000 AP**

**3500 GIL**

* * *

Were the words to welcome Rue back to the land of the living, it was dark and they'd stopped for the night apparently, the only light coming from the nonexistent screen Rue was now staring up at. She huffed quietly at the words presented to her, though relieved that the light the damned thing gave off wasn't hurting her eyes like her phone used to when she brought it out at night. 'B' seemed to be unaware of the mental and emotional strain killing others caused her, even killing someone as vile as Hojo would have given her nightmares, even as he gave her nightmares because he lived. Grimacing Rue lifted a shaky hand to dismiss the screen, forcing herself to move after Angeal telling her not to might not have been the best idea, but sometimes you just needed to do things. _Mother fucking Mako. Why does it have to hurt so much?_

* * *

**CONGRATULATIONS!**

**LEVEL UP!**

…

**You are now Level 12!**

**Strength:** 13

 **Dexterity:** 18

 **Vitality:** 11

 **Magic:** 13

 **Intelligence:** 15

 **Luck:** 10

**Stat Points to Spend: 5**

* * *

Rue blinked at new words that had appeared, she'd leveled up now? Sweet. Grumbling to herself Rue focused on trying to figure out where she wanted her new stat points. Her luck would have to wait this time, she decided with a thoughtful frown as she quietly allotted the points. Hoping not to wake the other two in the truck with her.

* * *

**Strength:** 14

 **Dexterity:** 20

 **Vitality:** 12

 **Magic:** 14

 **Intelligence:** 15

 **Luck:** 10

…

**Confirm?**

* * *

"Confirm," Rue whispered finally. She heard someone shift in their sleep and huff quietly making Rue wince and go still once she'd gotten rid of the screen. Waiting for whoever it was to settle down and go back to sleep.

"Confirm what?" asked a quiet voice in the dark. She should have known her luck would fail her, Rhys was awake after all it seemed. _Well fuck._

"Nothing, go back to sleep," she whispered back tersely. More shifting and then;

"But what were those numbers and things you were talking about?" he whisper-demanded through the hole in the trucks cab. Rue sighed to herself, she'd been hoping he hadn't noticed that bit.

"I was trying to go back to sleep, counting helps me sometimes," she grumbled at the trooper. Angeal hadn't really explained why Rhys was there and now it was bothering her a little, but she supposed she'd find out more in the morning.

"Oh, but what were you saying 'confirm' to?" now he just sounded confused. Rue made a face as she desperately tried to find a number that sounded something like 'confirm'.

"I didn't say 'confirm', I mumbled 'long-term', as in 'is this pain going to be long-term?'" she grumped. "I was thinking out loud in sleep mumble," huffing Rue went to roll over and then remembered she couldn't. Grumbling more she settled back down, staring up at the roof grumpily. This was not her night.

"Oh, right, sorry, I-uh-I'll just let you sleep then," Rhys answered awkwardly. Rue found herself sleepily wondering how old the guy was, because he sounded as awkward as she did sometimes.

The next screen that appeared before Rue made her stomach drop;

* * *

**Congratulations!**

**Thanks to the fear for your life during your confrontation with Hojo you have unlocked a new skill!**

**+Skill - Blood Bending Lvl 1**

* * *

Rue forced herself not to cry at the sight of it, she did not want that as part of her skill set. It was scary to think she could turn people into living puppets, if only on the full moon. _Fuck. What if it's not only on the full moon. I don't wanna be like Amon!_

' _Rue, calm down, it's not that bad,'_ someone tried to reason with her. Rue wasn't sure which past Avatar that had been, the voice hadn't been familiar, but it was soothing. Knowing she couldn't verbally answer Rue could only shake her head, disagreeing completely with that assessment. It was very much bad and the fact that neither Aang or Korra had spoken to her about her Blood Bending only made her more sure that it was a very bad thing to have skills in.

" _Rue, you aren't Amon or Tarrlok, you're you and that's all that matters, Blood Bending or not,"_ Korra's words meant more to Rue that she could have ever articulated.


	2. 2.1 Are We There Yet?

"Are we there yet?" she asked for the umpteenth time. Both her human companions sighed at Rue's unrelenting and repetitive questioning, she'd been asking the same thing since they'd started out again that morning. Tera was snoozing peacefully in the hot sun near the foot of the litter Rue was laying on, ignoring everyone else quite pointedly.

"No, we aren't, and we won't be arriving for some time yet, so please, please, Rue, stop asking," Angeal asked her. Rue grumbled a little, but remained silent, the boys were there to help her after all. It wouldn't be a good idea to piss them off too much after all.

"Fine, whatever, can you at least tell me where you're taking me?" her dramatic side was starting to show with all the boredom she was dealing with. There was only so much one could do when unable to move it, not to mention it was stupidly hot, and Rue wasn't handling either well.

"Private Robin and myself are escorting you to Cosmo Canyon for your own safety. I'll see you settled in and then return to Midgar, while Private Robin remains behind with you," the explanation made Rue frown at Angeal.

"Why is Rhys staying behind with me and why does it sound like you won't be sticking around for very long?" she asked him suspiciously. Her eyes thinned as she eyed the buff teenager beside her, there was something different about him, something that hadn't been there before the incident in the Science Department.

"Private Robin is remaining at your side because _we_ cannot, and you have a nasty habit of getting into trouble. As for my swift departure, well, the longer I'm gone the more suspicious it is, which means more people will be looking into it, and I have a student waiting for some teaching back at base," the distracted smile on his face said it all. Rue grinned back, it seemed that her off-hand comment about Zack had done it's job all those weeks ago, though the pang of guilt for helping to put the poor guy on his destined path made her falter a little. With any luck Rue would be able to stop all that shit from going down before it did, not that she had any idea of how to do so yet. That would take some serious thinking and was definitely for another day.

"A student? Well I guess I better not keep you too long then, wouldn't want the puppy to destroy too much in your absence," Angeal frowned at her slightly.

"How did you know I call him a puppy?" he asked. The frown was deepening by the second and Rue had to smile at him, because who wouldn't think of Zack as a puppy?

"It's that energetic cadet, right? The exhausting looking one?" Angeal nodded a the question. "Well then how could I not liken him to a puppy?" Rue's grin broadened. The chuckle she got in response was a relief, Rue wasn't sure how she would have gone if he had argued with her logic.

"Fair enough, His name is Zack, I kept an eye on him like you suggested and found that despite his promise he was failing his classes, I thought he could use a different approach. After a few private lessons I decided to be his mentor, I should have an email from the Director any day now confirming it all," he looked happy. Rue wished Angeal could remain this happy, but she knew better, shit was going to happen and there wasn't much she could do about it. Maybe Rue would be able to help pull the three of them back from the edge, if she was lucky, but when was Rue ever lucky? It was a hope, for a better future. Something that seemed so far away and impossible at this point. "-ue? Rue, are you alright?" Angeal's voice brought her back to the present. Blinking Rue turned back to her friend and smiled softly.

"Sorry, I was thinking. I'm glad things are looking up for you though, being a mentor will be good for you I think, have some fun with it," Angeal smiled back at her. He looked a little worried though, and Rue knew better than to think for a moment that she could stop Angeal from doing so. He was a worrier, it was what he did.

"Is it the pain? I got some pain killers from the doctors before we left if you need them," he offered. Rue shook her head, she didn't need the meds, hated them in fact and would avoid using them if she could.

' _You need to Water Heal yourself, or use that weird ball-thing that feels wrong, we need some mobility Rue,'_ Korra reminded her of the facts. Rue grimaced, Materia was out, not with the Mako still in her system, she had little doubt it would only make her worse. As for Water Healing, well, Rue didn't exactly know that skill, nor did she understand how it worked exactly.

"I'm fine, well, no, not fine, but," Rue took a deep breath. "It could be worse, was worse, yesterday, better now, I just-I was thinking about the future is all," she finished lamely. The smile Rue received was warm and, strangely, fond. She raised an eyebrow at him in silent askance and Angeal shook his head, the smile still on his face.

"He cares about you, you know that, right?" the question blind sided Rue. She stared at him, feeling her face going red slowly as the words sank in, until she finally huffed lightly and looked away before turning back to him a little more composed.

"Which one?" she asked eventually. Trying to keep things light, rather than letting Angeal make things all serious and crap. By the not-joking look on his face it wasn't working.

"I think you know who," it was his turn to raise a brow. The blush she'd fought hard to get rid of flared up again at his words and not for the last time did Rue curse her teenage body. _Damn hormones, why do you keep making me blush like a fucking school-girl!?_ She also hated that Angeal was right, she did know exactly who he was talking about, but it wasn't going to happen, he was doomed and that was that. The only thing in any of their futures was death and that was something Rue did not need to deal with on top of everything else.

"It doesn't matter, he's out of my league anyway," Rue turned away with these words. She wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, Angeal, or herself.

* * *

It was nearly sunset when the truck finally lurched to a stop, the heat had thankfully died down to a manageable level and, while still in pain, the nap Rue had had earlier had helped a little. Her mind was clearer, which was wonderful in itself and, as such, she was more awake.

"So, are we there yet?" she asked again. The shit-eating grin on her face only made Angeal sigh and swipe half-heartedly across his hand across Rue's head.

"Yes, brat, we're there," he huffed at her. She watched as Angeal climbed down from the back of the truck and heard Rhys get out of the front drivers seat. Her mouth twitched at the use of Genesis' nickname for her, the Goddess only knew how often the red head had called her that. _Frequently. Stupid Pyro-Lunatic._

"Good, can I get out of this hunk of metal then? I think my butts gone numb," Rue complained. She shifted on the pallet she was on and winced as she slowly forced herself into a sitting position.

"Rue! No, lay back down, you aren't healed enough," Angeal moved to get back into the back. The stubborn glare he received for his trouble halted him in his tracks however, and Angeal sighed and shook his head at her. It seemed that he knew better than to argue with Rue when she was like this. _Finally some sense._

"Sir! It's the locals," Rhys called out. Angeal grimaced and motioned for her to stay put, before disappearing around the truck to wherever Rhys was. Rue snorted and slowly started to pull herself up onto shaky legs. Tera was immediately by her side, helping Rue balance herself after months of remaining horizontal. The pain in her legs wasn't nearly as bad as the burning sensation on her back and shoulders, and Rue found herself gritting her teeth as she shuffled slowly towards the back of the truck bed. Getting over the edge would be the next big problem she would have to deal with. _Wonderful._

' _If you knew how to Metal Bend you could totally made a slide or something,'_ someone unfamiliar commented from her peanut gallery. Rue just rolled her eyes at the words.

"If I knew how to Metal Bend I could do a whole lot more than just made a fucking slide," Rue grumbled as she shuffled over to the edge. She wasn't looking forward to having to have to climb over and then down, that would undoubtedly be painful as fuck. She just hoped it didn't make her throw up.

"-ra isn't welcome here, turn back," she caught the end of someone unknown talking outside. Angeal's reply was an indistinct rumble and Rhys' additional words were just as bad. Growling as whoever was watching the boundaries of the Canyon once again demanded that they leave Rue carefully hoisted herself out of the truck. It was painful and made her head spin from the stress it put her still-healing body through, but Rue shook her head free of it and braced a hand against the side of the truck as she shuffled around it with Tera close at hand.

"Please, we don't mean any harm, my friend needs a place to rest and heal from her injuries, I thought-" Angeal was attempting to reason with the two men standing in the middle of the road.

"Angeal," she called softly. Eyes wide, both Angeal and Rhys turned to Rue in surprise, it seemed neither thought she would be able to get out of the truck without some help. Rue focused on the men from Cosmo, they were watching her warily, and she didn't blame them after stopping a SOLDIER First short with a single word. "I would like to request a word with Bugenhagen, if you don't mind," she asked them politely. They frowned at her and shared a look, before one of them took off without a word, hopefully to get the old stargazer.

"Rue?" a hand on her shoulder brought her attention back to Angeal. He was looking down at her worriedly and Rue huffed at him, patting his hand reassuringly.

"I'm fine, tired and dizzy, but fine, once Bugenhagen gets down here it'll all be okay," she told him. _I hope._ The last thought remained unsaid. Rue was banking on the old man having heard of the Avatar like Godo had, if he hadn't she wasn't sure how this was going to go. On the other hand, he was a decent judge of character, so maybe it would turn out okay either way.

' _Maybe you could show them all your Water Bending, that usually gets peoples attention,'_ Korra suggested. Rue snorted, it wasn't like the other Avatar was wrong, people did tend to take more notice when she did weird shit like that.

"You've met this Bugenhagen?" Rhys asked her with a frown. Rue shook her head as she glanced around the area, the red stone cliffs that were specific to the area loomed around them, casting deep shadows across the dusty ground around them.

"No, but I've heard of him and know about his beliefs about the Planet, he's a reasonable man, by all accounts," Rue shrugged. Angeal eyed her thoughtfully, seeming thinking hard about something before he spoke his thoughts aloud.

"Been here, but without feet?" he asked quietly. Rue grinned at him and tilted her head to the side as she looked up at him, her tired amusement plain in her eyes.

"Maybe," was all she said. She watched as Angeal rubbed the bridge of his nose as he tried to figure out how Rue had actually been to these places without anyone knowing about it, she had little doubt that her comments about screens had only confused him further.

"Alright, fine, I don't even want to think about that," he admitted with another sigh. When she wobbled, Angeal's grip on her shoulder tightened as he steadied her and she smiled at him with as much warmth as she could currently muster.

"Oh ho ho, who do we have here?" the group turned at the sound of an elderly mans' voice. Rue was relieved to see Bugenhagen heading their way so quickly, she had wondered how long it would take, but it seemed they'd made him curious. What did raise her brow, however, was the red coated wolf-lion padding along at his side. A quick glance down at Tera made her slide her fingers into the Coeurl's fur, holding on with a tight grip. The last thing she needed was to upset Nanaki on their first meeting.

"Mr Bugenhagen, I presume?" Angeal stepped forward. He was defensive, probably thinking that Nanaki was like Tera in nature, rather than the sentient and highly intelligent being he really was.

"Indeed, ho ho ho, and who might you all be?" the old man asked. Rue smiled as she studied him from her place behind Angeal, dark blue robe, beard and sunglasses all the while sitting on a floating ball-thing. Yep. This was Bugenhagen. _He reminds me a little of Gyatso in some ways._ It was at this thought that Rue felt Aang and Roku in particular take notice of what was happening around her. Thankfully she repressed the want to roll her eyes at the pair, it wasn't like the dude actually _was_ Gyatso, unless they were doing 'everyone reincarnates'. Rue frowned slightly, isn't that something that was hinted at during Bugen's explanation of the way the Lifestream works. Or something to that effect. This was something to be thought more on later she decided. Perhaps she would even ask the old man if he allowed her to stay.

"I am SOLDIER First Class Angeal Hewley, this is Private Robin and-" Angeal was attempting to introduce Rue when she elbowed her way past him. If they were going to get into the damn Canyon Rue was going to have to handle this herself. She hobbled over to Bugenhagen and put a fist to her left palm and bowed to the old man.

"Greetings Master Bugenhagen of Cosmo Canyon, I am Avatar Rue, I apologise for having to come unannounced like this, but I'm afraid I am in need somewhere to heal and train in Earth Bending," Rue straightened and motioned to her friends behind her. "My companions thought this would be the safest place for me to stay for a time, I did not have a say in this as I was unconscious for two months after an incident with Hojo. However I would be deeply appreciative if you would grant us entrance to the Canyon," Rue finished with a hopeful and tired smile. Bugenhagen didn't say anything for a moment before chuckling heartily and leaning closer, sliding his glasses down his nose a little to look at her without the tint in his way.

"The Avatar, well, I can't very well say no to a legend, now can I?" he asked with a kind smile behind his white beard. Rue closed her eyes in relief, he had heard of her after all. Bugenhagen turned to the men who had barred their entrance and waved at them to let the truck past before turning back to the new comers. "Avatar Rue, you and your friends are welcome in Cosmo Canyon, though I should warn your SOLDIER friend that any violence towards our people will not be looked on kindly," Rue nodded in understanding. The request was reasonable and she was relieved that it was Angeal who had been chosen to take this trip with her instead of one of the other two. They would have probably made things more difficult.

"Of course," agreed Angeal from behind Rue. She glanced down at Nanaki and smiled, nodding at him politely before Angeal guided her gently back to the truck. Nanaki himself seemed surprised to have been acknowledged, but followed Bugenhagen back the way they had come, ahead of the truck to let the others residing within the Canyon without scaring the crap out of anyone by opening his mouth. Angeal didn't say anything more as he helped Rue get back into the back, lifting her carefully over the edge, but the look in his eye made her know that he was getting ready to ask about that greeting.

"Out with it," she demanded once they were both settled in the back and Rhys had started the engine.

"I wasn't-" he started with a smile. Hands up in surrender, but Rue didn't buy it, he had that look in his eye.

"Yes you were, you know you were, so, just, out with it," she pointed at him. Her finger waving about as she spoke.

"Okay, okay, I-I was just wondering where that all came from, and what it means when you say your the 'Avatar'?" the furrow between Angeal's brows only grew the more he spoke. Rue sighed and leaned back gingerly against the side of the truck, if she lay back down they would never get her back up again, as she tried to figure out what to tell Angeal that would make sense.

"Right, that, well-um-it's kinda complicated, but basically it's a title for a very-um-powerful being? Someone who's job it is to keep the peace and other things?" she explained as vaguely as possible. Of course that meant she ended those explanations with a question. Rue couldn't help it, she wasn't sure what would be safe to tell the SOLDIER, despite him being a friend, he still worked for Shinra. The less he knew the less he could tell others and Rue hated herself for thinking that, but if Shinra discovered the extent of her abilities before she was properly trained everything could turn into a shit-show for her.

"What?" apparently she was too vague. With a sigh and a hand through her hair Rue tried to figure out what else to add.

"It's an old legend, I guess, and something you're born into," Rue tried again. When the frown on Angeal's face didn't shift she sighed again and, shifted in her seat. "Look, don't worry about it, okay? It's not important," Rue tried to wave the subject away. Angeal's frowned deepened, but he didn't say any more on the subject for the rest of the short trip into the Canyon. This only made Rue more on edge, mainly because she had no idea what the jar-head across from her was thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Second chapter of Book Two. Done.
> 
> Okay, this chapter was weird, it went places I didn't expect it to go at all. So they've made it to Cosmo, which is great, of course now Rue is going to have some explaining to do. Or rather more explaining to do. Because I think we can all agree Angeal is not going to just let this go, he'll want some actual answers. Whether or not she is capable of of giving those answers is a totally different bag of cats.
> 
> Next chapter will be more Nanaki and Bugen, and talking about Rue's plans for her time in Cosmo. Such as her Earth Bending training and healing from her injuries, not to mention coming to terms with her Blood Bending.
> 
> The Blood Bending in particular will be a thing the Rue deals with over the course of Book Two, I've had a few people comment over Rue's negativity concerning it and I would like to assure you guys that this is something that will be looked at. I think I mentioned this in another AN, but as we've never had a Blood Bending Avatar and the stigmata attached to it in the series, I felt that it would be something interesting to explore. Rue will eventually discover more positive sides to this skill as the story moves forward, we just have to wait for her to get over that initial knee-jerk reaction of revulsion. I'm just trying to keep things as realistic as I can when writing about this particular situation, it's delicate and I want to handle it properly.
> 
> Until next time,
> 
> RLK

**Author's Note:**

> AN: WELCOME TO BOOK TWO GUYS!
> 
> It's been a long journey here, but we made it. Which is something I'm still trying to figure out how I managed to do, this is without a doubt the longest thing I've written to date. Which is good and bad a the same time. Good, because, holy shit, I'm past nearly past 100k without the AN's. And bad because I'd much rather have this much written on an original work.
> 
> I spent a full day writing out the outline for TITAN and for some reason Rhys Robin suddenly appeared as a background character who was somewhat important. Not story wise, not really, but for Rue personally. She needs someone 'normal' that she can just talk to and he put his hand up for that. It was interesting figuring out his part.
> 
> Ah well. Hope you enjoy Book Two, here's to the insane ride we're in for!
> 
> RLK


End file.
